Sometime in the depths of January, in the middle of the bleak monotony of winter, I realized that I needed to do something. I needed a vacation, or an adventure. I wanted to do something exciting, like ride my bike across the country.

But I didn’t have time to do that. And apparently January is not a popular time to bike across Canada. Also I hadn’t been exercising, and just walking around the block was tiring. So instead I rode my bike a mile to the river. I enjoyed that, and I started wondering what it would be like to ride my bike every day. So I did.

68 days later (not counting days I was sick or out of town), it has been like being on vacation in my own city. It has been that disorienting feeling of part familiar, part new, that thrown-off-balanceness of being in a different space.

Some of the things I’ve discovered —

People on the North Shore are friendlier than I thought they were. Almost every time I ride my bike somewhere people say hello to me, people smile, people in cars are constantly trying to give me the right of way when they don’t need to.

You can get fresh donuts on Saturdays at the Stir in North Kamloops. They come in fun flavours like Mars Attacks.

I’m not the only person who gets nervous when cycling over the Overlanders Bridge at night.

I can cycle (and walk my bike on the steeper parts) up to the top of the hills I can see from my house, and the view is fantastic from up there.

If I bundle up in ski gear (including ski mitts) and ride my bike in the winter, I’m not cold. There is also all the excitement of maybe almost falling, without having to drive to a ski hill.

There are so many different kinds of snow.

I’d rather cycle to the grocery store than drive the car a mile and park it.

Out past the airport in early spring, there are cows with new calves.

Getting different handlebars and seat and tires can make a bike much more comfortable. 

While riding my bike, I can be passed by a semi truck and not die.

MacArthur Island Park is beautiful at night in the winter. The path has bright lights all along it, and the trees glisten white with frost against the dark sky.

Transporting groceries by bike is very awkward when you aren’t used to it.

The river looks different every day.

An inexpensive bike and an expensive lock make it less stressful to leave my bike unsupervised. 

There are deer everywhere in Brock. On the side streets, at the parks, hanging out around the gas pumps at 7-11.

My bike tilts alarmingly when I try to signal a turn.

The rivers trail is a slow but beautiful way to get places.